Soccer Mommy (also known as Sophie Allison) took to the stage at Town Ballroom Buffalo, bringing her newest album Sometimes, Forever to life in a gorgeous way. Even though the show was in a smaller venue, Soccer Mommy did an incredible job using backdrops, decorations, and lighting to portray the scenery and overall witchy/whimsical vibe of the record. Write up with photos by Melissa Hy, please credit @_melissahy & @almostfamouszine if reposting.
Soccer Mommy and the rest of the band took to the stage in a timely manner, taking advantage of every second they could. The band opened with the song “Bones,” which is the opening track off of Sometimes, Forever. The crowd was immediately stunned; many people were singing along to the song, and EVERYONE was rocking out to the intense swell of the drums and heavy distortion effects on the guitar. After “Bones,” Soccer Mommy went on to play “With U” and “Circle the Drain.” I had to do my very best not to get distracted during “Circle the Drain,” which is one of my personal favorite Soccer Mommy songs. It has a very catchy chorus, despite the all-too-depressing but adjacently all-too-real lyrics.
As the night continued, I found myself relieved to know that I wouldn’t have to listen to “Shotgun” from the photo pit. I loved my time spent in the pit, of course, but “Shotgun” is just one of those songs where you have to jump around and scream-sing the lyrics with your friends… or with random strangers. Afterwards, the band played more songs such as “Unholy Affliction,” which is becoming one of my newfound favorites. I heavily enjoyed the usage of lighting to overlay a computer glitch effect on the band. Adding to this “glitchy” feel, they added distortion onto the different instruments. I think that this song sends an important message about artists feeling the need to be perfect in order to maintain their status. It touches on the strict expectations that many artists (especially young artists) are held to, and it shows that sometimes people who once loved their craft can end up feeling like they are stuck working for a machine.
Soccer Mommy continued the set with songs like “Darkness Forever” and “Feel It All the Time.” When it came time to sing “Scorpio Rising,” Sophie asked the crowd if there were any other Scorpio risings in the room. There was a surprisingly large amount of Scorpio risings present… I felt a little bit left out (Leo rising gang). Soccer Mommy also played “Still Clean,” which is an older track of theirs which required the whole band (other than Sophie herself) to clear the stage. I also fell in love with this song, which quickly made it to my “Unrequited Love” playlist.
Soccer Mommy rounded out the night with “Still,” “newdemo,” and “Yellow is the Color of Her Eyes.” Everyone, especially the people on the barricade, went absolutely CRAZY for “Yellow is the Color of Her Eyes!” After “finishing” the set, Soccer Mommy disappeared, and then quickly reappeared for a two-song encore. The first of the two songs was “Don’t Ask Me,” a song that had the crowd hyped. Lastly, however, was “Your Dog,” which I had been eagerly awaiting all night long. I feel like I connect heavily to a lot of Sophie’s songwriting, but especially this song.
Overall, Soccer Mommy played an unforgettable show full of awesome songs. Sophie displayed amazing guitar skills and beautiful vocals. Her and the crowd were also so sweet. After every other song she said, “Thanks you guys!!!” as well as saying, “I love you too!” when fans would scream, “I love you!”
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